All I want is some friggin’ sharks spliced with friggin’ tiger DNA! Is it too much to ask? Really? (Nightwing #25 Comic Review)

Nightwing in a race against time to save the lives of arguably the most undeserving “victims” ever.

What You Need to Know:

Having collapsed from exhaustion after fighting his way through a veritable sh*t storm of sh*tty villains (and Magog) on the yacht of Bludhaven crime lord, Tiger Shark, Nightwing awakens to find himself casually confronted by the physical powerhouse who set him up in the first place: Blockbuster.

Blockbuster informs Nightwing that he, and not Nightwing, is the hero that Bludhaven needs. He grew up there. He knows the streets. Nightwing is nothing. He then escapes, leaving Nightwing along to either disarm the bomb he’s planted on the boat and save himself and all of those aforementioned sh*tty villains, or to become well done chunks of food for the fishes in Bludhaven Bay.

In other news, Nightwing’s love life is on the rocks. I’m rolling my eyes so hard right now.

What Just Happened?

In a race against the clock, Nightwing must outthink his nemesis, Blockbuster, or he forfeits his own life as well as the c-list rabble of villains on Tiger Shark’s yacht, all of whom have been set up to die by the man who sees himself as the savior of Bludhaven; Blockbuster.

The Clock King agrees to assist Nightwing, as NW saved his life last issue, and using his time manipulating technology. Nightwing does save the day, but nearly drowns in the process. He owes his life to Detective Svoboda of the Bludhaven PD, who Dick fantasizes to be his girlfriend, former villainess Defacer, as she performs mouth to mouth on him. All of the c-list villains have escaped, according to Svoboda.

Tiger Shark, realizing that he has been betrayed by Blockbuster, races to the Marcus Casino to destroy any evidence that the Bludhaven PD or the federal government can use against him. There, he finds a gloating Blockbuster waiting in his office.

This is when, and it’s the coolest thing ever, Tiger Shark unveils his secret weapons: he has somehow managed to splice together the DNA of tigers and sharks to created two massive Shark/Tiger hybrid monsters!!!! Seriously, how cool are these?

Blockbuster beats the half Shark/ half Tiger monsters down before basically making Tiger Shark his bitch and taking over the crime scene in Bludhaven. I, personally, really just want to see more of these monsters. I find it hard to believe that Blockbuster has such an easy time taking down two bad ass creatures such as these. But, that’s just me.

After offering him a complimentary cocktail, Blockbuster begins a relatively pleasant, uber passive aggressive conversation with Nightwing at the Marcus Casino bar. Nightwing basically calls Blockbuster out for being a weak ass imitation of his brother, the original Blockbuster, which hits a trigger.

We join Nightwing’s sidekick, Giz, (short for Gizmo, it’s not pronounced Jizz as I previously expected, it’s a hard G here, people) and his cute girlfriend, Mouse, as they are being spied upon by what appears to be another computer hacker but this time it’s a lady. I think.

Nightwing heads home after a killer day to find his moody, emo girlfriend waiting to dump him for not being understanding enough. Nightwing leaves, apparently crushed even though he’s dated bad asses like Batgirl and Starfire, and the Defacer is joined by her partner in crime, Pigeon.

Just when Blockbuster thinks he can count Nightwing out, Dick Grayson takes an undercover job as a Blackjack dealer in the Marcus Casino. Oh, Dicky! You’re so tricky! And, Tiger Shark’s ultimate fate is revealed.

We rejoin Mouse, who discovers (GASP!!!) Giz has had the ever loving snot beat out of him! Or he’s dead. Meh.

Final Thought:

It was an okay issue. Overall, not very eventful. Nightwing deserves a better plot, a better supporting cast, a better, more confident girlfriend and a way better rogue’s gallery. Blockbuster may well turn out to be a significant threat, but Dick just basically kicked the crap out of 30 villains who are exactly on his level.

I’m not sure who the intended audience is here, but if its diehard Nightwing/Batman/Grayson/Titans fans? It’s missing the mark.